Hammers notebook: Little gives a lot in win

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Ray Little hasn't had the kind of impact he hoped he would with the Alabama Hammers.

Little, who was supposed to be the leader in the Hammers' secondary, was slowed by a knee injury early on and also was hampered with a turf toe.

Despite those injuries that forced him to miss two games, Little battled his way back into the lineup, but still wasn't as effective as he needed to be.

"Ray came back too early," Hammers defensive back coach Andre Goines said Tuesday afternoon. "He forced his way in the lineup because he's a competitor and he didn't want to let his teammates down."

Little didn't let his teammates down last Saturday night.

The Hammers snapped their five-game losing streak and Little played a huge role, coming away with three interceptions to help Alabama beat Louisiana 58-42. The two teams will meet again Saturday night at 7 in Lake Charles, La.

"Ray is healthy now and coming into his own," Goines said. "It showed last Saturday."

Little's three interceptions were among five turnovers the Hammers forced on the night.

"We did some good things," Goines said. "We did a better job of attacking the ball and making plays when they needed to be made."

Al Donaldson also had an interception, while outside linebacker Darian Payne had a fumble return for a touchdown.

"The ball bounced our way for once," Hammers coach Marty Hammond said. "They fumbled a snap and it bounced right to Payne. Al got a deflection and Ray deflected one to himself and made a couple of other plays. Things were going right for a change."

Nelson solid in return

Quarterback Arvell Nelson was solid in his return to the starting lineup.

Nelson was 21-of-32 for 217 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. He also had two rushing touchdowns.

"I still didn't play as well as I wanted to," he said. "I had a couple of turnovers and I missed some reads, but we got the win and that's themost important thing."

Hammond said Louisiana forced Nelson to read different coverages and he handled it pretty good despite missing the last two games.

"He missed some reads, but overall he played pretty good," Hammond said. "They were trying to change some stuff in the secondary, but he did a pretty good job reading it for the most part."

One of seasons best outings

Last Saturday's game was one of the more complete performances the Hammers have put together all season, Hammond said.

Unfortunately, he said, it came too late in the season with his team out of playoff contention.

"It wasn't a perfect game, but we made enough plays, got some breaks and good things happened for us," Hammond said. "we've been missing that for most of the year, but we got them Saturday night."